Please tell me this article is meant to be a a joke because it's a good one  - my stomach aches with laughing - a whole page full of "jokers" .

You kick it in the groin 'til it moves no more. Do not go near this, ever. Check out all the jurisdictions that are deep into the "Green" hot tub. Like Ont, Calif.  European countries and others, they're impoverishing their citizens with soaring electricity costs. The term " Energy poverty " was unknown 5 years ago, yet more and more people are experiencing  stark choices for their households. Truth is Wind turbines with their grotesque visual imprint do nothing to mitigate CO2  (plant food), which is the supposed selling feature of this form of generation. It is a scam of the highest order to the emmense benefit financially of a few while they cloak themselves in robes of green.



Wow, LauraGriffin - that is a load of total anti-wind nonsense. You cannot tear down any peer reviewed study just because it undermines your hysterical claims. That review is based on the results of epidemiological studies. Normal, intelligent people should stay far away from unhinged Anti-wind groups which call for studies, but refuse to accept the results of dozens of existing ones.

Bottom line, no quality (peer-reviewed ) study has ever found any link between wind power and health. And there have been many.

Anyone who cites the Massachusetts health study is someone who clearly didn't read it and who should not be taken seriously.  That 'study' is a complete farce.

In the entire 163 page report, nowhere does it state that they spoke directly to anyone who lives or has lived near a wind turbine and had their lives profoundly impacted by an IWT.   Neither did they conduct any medical tests on those living near wind turbines or study anyone's medical records.

Per the report:  “In conducting their evaluation, the Panel conducted an extensive literature review of the scientific literature as well as other reports, popular media, and the public comments received by the MassDEP.”

So they relied almost entirely on pre-existing data and literature AND popular media!!  Now that’s what I call an extensive, independent review!!!

Did they consider ALL other data presented to them, in an unbiased and fair manner?

“In all cases, data quality was considered; at times, some studies were rejected because of lack of rigor or the interpretations were inconsistent with the scientific evidence.”

So in other words, if the data presented to them, did not fall under previously accepted scientific conclusions, then it was tossed.  How thorough!

They cite the work done by Dr. Nina Pierpont, who has spent years studying and working directly with people living near wind turbines and experiencing ill health effects.  She has documented hundreds of cases  and written several articles and publications highlighting her findings.

This illustrious group of PHD’s conclude however, that she proves no causal link between those ill health effects and living near wind turbines.  They also seem to take offense at the fact that Dr. Pierpont, in order to study the effects of wind turbines, sought out the victims thusly:

“The most critical problem with respect to inferring causality from Pierpont’s findings lies in how the families were identified for participation.  To be included in the study, among other criteria, at least one family member had to have severe symptoms and reside near a wind turbine.”

Shame on her!!!  Conducting research on the effects of wind turbines by ACTUALLY speaking to people who LIVE near a turbine  and are experiencing symptoms.

Being the enlightened academics that they are, they go on to base THEIR extensive research findings, not by speaking directly to wind victims, but rather on things like this:

“There is limited evidence”

“There is insufficient evidence”

“There is insufficient evidence that the noise from wind turbines is directly causing health problems”

“None of the limited epidemiological evidence reviewed suggests an association between noise from wind turbines and pain and stiffness, diabetes, high blood pressure, tinnitus, hearing impairment, cardiovascular disease, and headache/migraine.”

“There is limited scientific evidence of an association between annoyance from prolonged shadow flicker and potential transitory cognitive and physical health effects.”

Of course there’s limited evidence.  Because no one, not once, in any of the government funded studies that we’ve found, has EVER gone out and spoken directly to people living near industrial wind installations, or done health evaluations, looked at medical records, etc.  They ALL rely on “previous studies”, which pretty much followed the same in-depth procedures that these people did.

However, they did conclude ONE possible ill health effect of being too close to a wind turbine!!!

“There is sufficient evidence that falling ice is physically harmful and measures should be taken to ensure that the public is not likely to encounter such ice.”

I know.  I'm speechless too!

Meanwhile, Germany is building 23 new coal plants to prop up their unreliable, inefficient wind and solar power.

From Forbes:   http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/08/31/germany-insane-or-just-plain-stupid/

 Europe's Green Obsession is Causing a new Coal boom:  http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/49137

From Germany news source Der Spiegel -- Germany's industries are suffering due to wind power:  http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/instability-in-power-grid-comes-at-high-cost-for-german-industry-a-850419.html

From Die Welt:   600,000 households in Germany without power -- Energy poverty is alarming:  http://notrickszone.com/2012/02/23/600000-households-in-germany-without-power-increasing-energy-poverty-is-alarming/

UK government signals end of green obsession:  http://quixoteslaststand.com/2012/09/05/uk-government-signals-end-of-green-obsession/

From Reuters -- The Netherlands is banning wind turbines because they're ugly and are a blight on the countryside:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/us-dutch-turbine-ban-idUSBRE88411820120905

This is all stuff that the news media in Canada doesn't want us to hear about, ESPECIALLY in Ontario.  The Green Energy Act is a monumental financial and environmental failure.  The government needs to accept that it was a mistake and put the brakes on this fiasco.  AND the media needs to stop promoting the GEA as if it is the be-all-and-end-all of our energy future.  It's NOT.

The research in this article reminds me of a grade school experiment called the Gossip Factor.

It starts with a chain of students where the first student whispers a story to the next student who whispers it to the next student and so on, until the end of the chain is reached. The interesting result is how much the story invariably changes at the end of the chain. 

Has something similar happened with David Dodge's research on how money and annoyance to wind turbines are linked?  Mr. Dodge is basing his conclusion on the literature review on wind  issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The literature review contains conclusions based on four mail-in health surveys including one titled " Project WINDFARM Perception" by Van den Berg, Pedersen. This survey does note that farmers who had wind turbines had lower levels of annoyance than those without wind turbines but the reasons for this had nothing to do with money.

Here is a quote from the Van den Berg/Pederson survey:"Respondents that benefit will more usually have control: most or all of them have taken part in the decision to put up the turbines and they can stop them if they want. One respondent remarked that if a turbine close by caused too much noise for him or his neighbour, he stopped the turbine."

In the  Netherlands farmers commonly own and operate their own wind turbines, whereas in Ontario they are owned  by multinationals which remotely operate them from controlrooms in Texas.

In the Netherlands rural people still have control over the environment they live in. Unfortunately Ontario chose a corporate development model for its wind turbine  program, and any form of local control  was also removed with the Green Energy Act. This is why there is a rural revolt against wind turbines in rural Ontario.

So I will put this question to David Dodge: Is he making conclusions on first hand knowledge or observations from sources that have gone through the Gossip Factor?